Nearly every resort is making videos. Some rock, some are pretty standard. Today, I want to show you a few sets of two videos. First, pick out which one you’d expect your skiers and riders to enjoy more. Then, identify the difference.

Video Set #1 – Opening Day

Video Set #2 – First Snow

Video Set #3 – Events

As you noticed, each of the videos on the left features the ski industry’s own Halley O’Brien who has made a name for herself in the video arena at Mountain Creek. Her videos are simple and less-than-serious, but are 10x more fun to watch than any other video updates I’ve ever seen a resort produce.

So, what are the differences? As I look at these, I see three, key differences.

Personality
First off, Halley shows more personality than any of the other videos. The interesting thing I see in Mountain Creek’s “Snow’s Coming!” video is that the host is very charismatic, but feels a bit more like a news anchor than a friend. The first one is similar with a tone resembling the local news’ weather guy.

Speed
Watch the clips again and notice the speed at which Halley transitions between points, clips, etc. She doesn’t dwell, it’s rapid fire. Even a single paragraph is cut, zoomed, etc. to add variety to an otherwise normal sentence which keeps viewers’ attention. Contrast that to the “Snows Coming!” and “Big Air” clips where the transitions are slow and/or awkward. Count how many times the frame changes in 30 seconds of Halley’s videos, then do a similar count for any of the others and you’ll see what I mean.

Stories
Halley, by her own definition, is a storyteller. And that, in my book, is a huge difference. When you tell stories people connect, care, and continue watching. More than making a movie, she tells a story. That’s where many of these fall short: twenty clips strung together do not necessary make a story.

There is also, of course, the intangible side of things. Just following a recipe won’t necessarily get you an awesome video. It may get you a better video, but Halley is able to intuitively piece together a movie that does all that but is also fun to watch and serves a purpose. Practice makes perfect. Well done, Halley.

About Gregg & SlopeFillers
I've had more first-time visitors lately, so adding a quick "about" section. I started SlopeFillers in 2010 with the simple goal of sharing great resort marketing strategies. Today I run marketing for resort ecommerce and CRM provider Inntopia, my home mountain is the lovely Nordic Valley, and my favorite marketing campaign remains the Ski Utah TV show that sold me on skiing as a kid in the 90s.